80 FR 52841 - Petition for Waiver of Compliance

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Railroad Administration

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 169 (September 1, 2015)

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 169 (Tuesday, September 1, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52841-52842]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21526]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Railroad Administration

[Docket Number FRA-2009-0089]


Petition for Waiver of Compliance

    In accordance with part 211 of Title 49 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations (CFR), this document provides the public notice that by a 
document posted on March 11, 2015, the Ashtabula, Carson & Jefferson 
Railroad (ACJR) has petitioned the Federal Railroad Administration 
(FRA) for a waiver of compliance from certain provisions of the Federal 
railroad safety regulations contained at 49 CFR 223.11, Requirements 
for existing locomotives. FRA assigned the petition Docket Number FRA-
2009-0089.
    ACJR of Jefferson City, OH, has petitioned for a permanent waiver 
of compliance for one locomotive, ACJR 7371, from the requirements of 
the railroad safety glazing standards at 49 CFR part 223 that require 
certified glazing in all windows. ACJR, chartered in 1984 to save the 
Conrail Jefferson Industrial Track, is located in the northeastern 
corner of Ohio. Its 6.3-mile long track, running through level farmland 
and wooded areas, has one terminus in Jefferson, OH, and the other, for 
interchanges, at the south end of Norfolk Southern Railway's Carson 
Yard in Ashtabula, OH. The railroad provides bulk commodity shipping 
and transloading services to customers from its staging facilities at 
the termini. Each year, the railroad hauls approximately 1,200 cars, at 
speeds not exceeding 10 mph.
    The locomotive was built by the American Locomotive Company (Alco) 
in April 1941, as a model S1 B-B yard switcher with an Alco 539 (6-
cylinder, 660 hp) engine. It is equipped with Plexiglas-type safety 
glazing that is in good condition, clear, and unscratched. ACJR states 
that there has been no instance of vandalism in approximately 30 years 
of its operations. ACJR further states that the expense of retrofitting 
the locomotive to comply with FRA safety glazing standards would impose 
an

[[Page 52842]]

undue financial burden that ACJR cannot bear at this time.
    Because of a low risk of exposure to injury due to vandalism and 
the prohibitive cost of glazing material and labor, ACJR is requesting 
the waiver of regulation contained at 49 CFR 223.11 for its locomotive 
listed above.
    A copy of the petition, as well as any written communications 
concerning the petition, is available for review online at 
www.regulations.gov and in person at the U.S. Department of 
Transportation's (DOT) Docket Operations Facility, 1200 New Jersey 
Avenue SE., W12-140, Washington, DC 20590. The Docket Operations 
Facility is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, except 
Federal Holidays.
    Interested parties are invited to participate in these proceedings 
by submitting written views, data, or comments. FRA does not anticipate 
scheduling a public hearing in connection with these proceedings since 
the facts do not appear to warrant a hearing. If any interested party 
desires an opportunity for oral comment, they should notify FRA, in 
writing, before the end of the comment period and specify the basis for 
their request.
    All communications concerning these proceedings should identify the 
appropriate docket number and may be submitted by any of the following 
methods:
     Web site: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments.
     Fax: 202-493-2251.
     Mail: Docket Operations Facility, U.S. Department of 
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., W12-140, Washington, DC 
20590.
     Hand Delivery: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Room W12-140, 
Washington, DC 20590, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, 
except Federal Holidays.
    Communications received by October 16, 2015 will be considered by 
FRA before final action is taken. Comments received after that date 
will be considered as far as practicable.
    Anyone is able to search the electronic form of any written 
communications and comments received into any of our dockets by the 
name of the individual submitting the comment (or signing the document, 
if submitted on behalf of an association, business, labor union, etc.). 
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(c), DOT solicits comments from the 
public to better inform its processes. DOT posts these comments, 
without edit, including any personal information the commenter 
provides, to www.regulations.gov, as described in the system of records 
notice (DOT/ALL-14 FDMS), which can be reviewed at www.dot.gov/privacy. 
See also http://www.regulations.gov/#!privacyNotice for the privacy 
notice of regulations.gov.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on August 10, 2015.
Ron Hynes,
Director, Office of Technical Oversight.
[FR Doc. 2015-21526 Filed 8-31-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4910-06-P